Apparatus for surface treatment of elongated, relatively wide metal strips



' Jan. 21, 1958 T. G. E. WAENERLUND APPARATUS FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OFELONGATED, RELATIVELY WIDE METAL STRIPS Filed Nov. 24, 1953 APPARATUSFOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF ELONGATED, RELATIVELY WIDE METAL STRIPS TorstenGiiran Emil Waenerlund, Vasteras, Sweden,

assignor to Aktiebolaget Svenska Metallverken, Vasteras, Sweden, a jointstock company limited of Sweden Application November 24, 1953, SerialNo. 394,153

Claims priority, application Sweden November 24, 1952 Claims. (Cl.90-21) The present invention relates to an arrangement for performingsurface treatment of elongated, relatively wide strips or hands, etc.,of ferrous or non-ferrous metals or alloys on one surface at a time.

In surface treatment, e. g. milling, finishing, inspection or the likeof elongated, relatively wide strips or bands of metals, viz. ferrous ornon-ferrous metals or alloys having a heavy weight it is often desirableto invert the strip in order that opposite surfaces thereof may beconveniently treated. In view of the fact that such elongated strips orhands are somewhat bulky and diflicult to handle manually, whichoperation is both expensive and time consuming and furthermore involvesthe risk that strips or bands being treated will be damaged it isdesired to perform the inverting operation with the least possiblemanual attention, which thus forms the primary object of the invention.

The invention also has a further object, viz., to render possibleinverting of the strips or bands in such a manner as to successivelypresent opposite surfaces of such strips to any desired machines fortreatment of such surfaces.

The invention is mainly characterized therein that the strips or handsare placed substantially horizontally upon a bed, such as a rollerconveyor or the like, and that the bands are caused to move through oneor a plurality of surface treating machines, e. g. a milling or grindingmachine, provided with working tools arranged to engage and treat onesurface of the strips or hands, Whereupon the bands are guided in anendwise direction upwardly and rearwardly in relation to the feed-indirection into the machine whereby the previous bottom side is turnedupwardly whereupon the strips or hands may again be passed through themachine or machines to treat the opposite side thereof.

The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference toan embodiment diagrammatically shown in the accompanying drawing and inconnection therewith further characterizing features of the inventionwill be set forth.

The drawing illustrates a part-sectional view of an arrangementaccording to the invention.

The strips or hands to be treated may be stacked or piled at theentrance end I of the apparatus or may be supplied by a suitableconveyor to a feeding apparatus 2 of a suitable design, e. g. one havingtwo cooperating feed rollers 3. Said feeding apparatus may suitablyconstitute an apparatus of the kind forming the subject of the SwedishPatent No. 150,124 (appln. No. 10285/52). Furthermore the drawingillustrates a strip designated by reference numeral 4 and it will benoted that the strip passes through a straightening machine generallydesignated by 5, which is provided with upper and lower straighteningrollers 6 and 7. Subsequently the strip passes through a millingmachine, or other desired treating apparatus, generally designated by 8,this machine being provided with a number of pairs of rollers 9, amilling cutter 10 and a backing roller 11. In this par- United StatesPatentfl ice ticular case the intention is mainly to treat the undersideof the strip by means of the milling cutter 10 and thereafter to turn orinvert the strip so that its upper surface willbe disposed downwardly tobe treated.

After passing through the milling machine the strip will be receivedupon a roll conveyor designated by 12 and having rolls 13, from whichposition it will be continuously bent upwardly through an arcuate rollconveyor switch 14, which is pivotally mounted at 15 for a purpose whichwill be later described. The switch 14 forms a part of a circular rollconveyor guide 16 of a suitable radius and provided with rollers 17,with which strips 4 engage for movement upwardly and rearwardly withrelation to the original feeding movement of the strip. While in certaininstances the strip will follow the entire path of the conveyor 16without sagging adjacent the upper part thereof, where relatively thinstrips are being treated it is necessary to provide a concentric guidedesignated by 19 and having conveyor rolls 20. 1f the end of the stripshould drop downwardly it will engage the conveyor rolls of the guide 19and move forwaruly with negligible resistance.

In the embodiment shown as an example the arcuate guides 16, 19terminate in a conveyor chute 21, provided on both sides with guidingflanges 22 to guide the strip in the desired path. This chute is notshown as provided with a roll conveyor but may obviously be equippedtherewith, should it be desired.

The strip or band 4 is advanced through the chute 21 by means of afeeding apparatus 23 provided with two feed rollers 24 and subsequentlydeposited upon a partially illustrated bed 25. The strip is now invertedwith the original upper surface downwardly disposed.

According to the invention the bed 25 may, if desired, be disposed infront of the feed-in end 1, but since frequently due to the desire tomove the strip 4 through the milling machine etc. a plurality of timesit is advantageous to have the bed 25 disposed on a higher level, asshown in the drawing for illustrative purposes.

Arranged at the end of the chute 21 is an inclined chute 26 throughwhich the inverted strip may be fed by the apparatus 23 to passdownwardly and back through the treating apparatus as described above.

When the strip has passed through the described inverting and treatingcycle a sufficient number of times it may either be fed back rearwardlythrough the feeding apparatus 2 or deposited upon the conveyor 12 forpossible further handling or piling. This latter feeding is renderedpossible in that the roller conveyor switch 14 may be moved into theupper position designated by 14a so that the same will be pivoted out ofthe path of the strip.

The fact that the guide is shown as constituting a part of a circle doesnot exclude the use of guides of other suitably curved form.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown and described butmay be varied in several respects Within the scope of the basicinventive idea.

Having now described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Apparatus for successively treating opposite surfaces of an elongatedstrip of relatively flexible material, said apparatus comprising a firstfeeding means for said strip, a milling machine disposed in the path ofmovement of said strip and including a horizontally disposed millingcutter for engaging and machining the lower surface only of said strip,a conveyor for receiving said strip from said milling machine, aninverting apparatus for said strip comprising a vertically disposed,arcuate trackway having a plurality of rolls for engaging and guidingsaid strip through an arcuate path, a plurality of rolls disposed inspaced substantially parallel relation respectively to said'first rollsand providing a substantially closed channel to retain said strip insaid arcuate path, a portion of said trackway at the entrance end beingpivotally mounted whereby the same maybe selectively disposed in thepath of movement of said strip emerging from said milling machine toguide said strip into said trackway or moved out of the way to permitmovement .of said strip onto said first mentioned conveyor, a reversiblefeeding means, .a chute leading from the discharge end of said arcuatetrackway to said reversible feeding means and a guide channel betweensaidrevers'ible feeding means and the entrance end of said millingmachine whereby strips inverted by said arcuate trackway may bewithdrawn from said'chute by said reversible feeding means and uponreversal of said reversible feeding means said strips may be fed throughsaid channel to said milling machine for machining of the oppositesurface of said strip.

2. Apparatus for successively treating opposite surfaces of an elongatedstrip of relatively flexible material, said apparatus comprising a.first feeding means for said strip, a treating machine disposed in thepath of movement of said strip and including .horizontally disposedmeans for treating the lower surface only of said strip, a conveyor forreceiving said strip .from .said treating machine, an invertingapparatus for said strip comprising a vertically disposed arcuatetrackway having a plurality of rolls for engaging and guiding said stripthrough an arcuate path, a plurality of rolls disposed in spacedsubstantially parallel relation respectively to said first rolls andproviding a substantially closed channel to retain said strip in saidarcuate path, a portion of said trackway at the entrance end beingpivotally mounted whereby the same may be selectively disposed in thepathof movement of said strip emerging from said treating machine toguide said strip into said trackway or moved out of the way to permitmovement of said strip onto said first mentioned conveyor, a reversiblefeeding means, a chute leading from the discharge .end of said arcuatetrackway to said reversible feeding means and .a guide channel betweensaid reversible feeding means and the entrance end of said treatingmachine whereby strips inverted by said arcuate trackway may beWithdrawn from said chute by said reversible feeding means and uponreversal of said reversible feeding means said strips may be fed throughsaid channel to said treating machine for treating the opposite surfaceof said strip.

3. Apparatus for successively treating opposite surfaces of an elongatedstrip of flexible material, said apparatus comprising a first feedingmeans for said strip, a

treating machine disposed in the path of movement of said strip andincluding horizontally disposed means for treating the lower surfaceonly of said strip, a conveyor for receiving said strip from saidtreating machine, an inverting apparatus for said strip comprising avertically disposed arcuate trackway for engaging and guiding said stripthrough an arcuate path, a secondtrackway disposed in spacedsubstantially concentric relation to said first trackway and providing asubstantially closed channel to retain said strip in said arcuate path,a portion of said trackway at the entrance end being pivotally mountedwhereby the same may be selectively disposed in the path of movement ofsaid strip emerging from said treating machine to guide said strip intosaid trackway or moved out of the way to permit movement of said striponto said first mentioned conveyor, a reversible feeding means, a chuteleading from the discharge end of said arcuate trackway to saidreversible feeding means and a guide channel between said reversiblefeeding means and the entrance end of said treating machine wherebystrips inverted by said arcuate trackway may be withdrawn from saidchute by said reversible feeding means and upon reversal of saidreversible feeding means said strips maybe fed through said channel tosaid treating machine for treating the opposite surface of said strip.

4. Apparatus for successively treating opposite surfaces of an elongatedstrip of relatively flexible material, said apparatus .comprising afirst feeding means for said strip, a treating machine disposed in thepath of movement of said strip and including horizontally disposed meansfor treating the lower surface only of said strip, a conveyor forreceiving said strip from said treating machine, an inverting apparatusforsaid strip comprising a vertically disposed arcuate trackwayforengaging and guiding said strip through an arcuate path,'a portion ofsaid trackway at the entrance end being movable whereby the same may beselectively disposed in the path of movement of said strip emerging fromsaid treating machine to guide said strip into said trackway or movedout of the way to permit movement of said strip onto said firstmentioned conveyor and means for receiving inverted strips from saidarcuate trackway and for feeding said strips to said treating machinefor treating the opposite surface of said strip.

5. Apparatus for successively treating opposite surfaces of anelongatedstrip of relatively flexible material, said apparatus comprising a firstfeeding means for said strip, a treating machine disposed in the path ofmovement of said strip and including horizontally disposed means fortreating the lower surface only of said strip, an inverting apparatusfor said strip comprising'a vertically disposed arcuate trackway forengaging and guiding said strip through an arcuate path and means forreceiving inverted strips from said arcuate trackway and for selectivelyfeeding said strips to said treating machine for treating the oppositesurface of said strip or for discharging said strip from said apparatus.

References Cited in the file of this patent "UNITED STATES PATENTS555,375 Huber Feb. 25, 1896 861,339 Williams July 30, 1907 1,198,741Mausel Sept. 19, 1916 1,873,860 Balletti Aug. 23, 1932 2,648,936 ;HajekAug. 18, 1953 ,FOREIGN PATENTS 324,789 Italy Feb. 15, 1935 843,876France Apr. 3, 1939

